The Rashid family, half British, half Arab, is driecting its rage against the United States, whose president they hold responsible for a series of attacks against their power and honor. From opposite ends of the world, hints are picked up by Blake Johnson, head of the clandestine White House operation known as the Basement, and his Irish colleague, Sean Dillon, but hints to what and by whom?

Summary

Edge of Danger.

Author Notes

Jack Higgins is a writer and educator, born in Newcastle, England on July 17, 1929. The name is the pseudonym of Harry Patterson. He also wrote under the names of Martin Fallon, James Graham, and Hugh Marlowe during his early writing career. He attended Leeds Training College and eventually graduated from the University of London in 1962 with a B.S. degree in Sociology.

Higgins held a series of jobs, including a stint as a non-commissioned officer in the Royal House of Guards serving on the German border during the Cold War. He taught at Leeds College of Commerce and James Graham College. He has written more than 60 books including The Eagle Has Landed, Touch the Devil, Confessional, The Eagle Has Flown, and Eye of the Storm. Higgins is also the author of the Sean Dillon series. His novels have since sold over 250 million copies and been translated into fifty-five languages.

His title's The Death Trade and Rain on the Dead made The New York Times Best Seller List.

Publisher's Weekly Review

After 31 Higgins thrillers, nearly all first-rate, fans know that this author is as reliable as a Rolls. His 32nd novel proves no letdown. Pitting returning antihero Sean Dillon, once of the IRA, now with British intelligence, against an aristocratic English-Arab family bent on vengeance that threatens world order, the story whips along. From London to the Middle East, from Ireland to the White House, it swirls with intrigue and snaps with violence. While driving drunk in England, a Russian diplomat kills the mother of Paul Rashid, Earl of Loch Dhu, one of the world's richest men. The diplomat is protected by both the Russians and the Americans, between whom he was brokering an oil deal. In retaliation, Rashid, whose Arab side stems from fierce desert "Bedu," lashes out by ordering the assassination of the American president. Rashid hires an infamous Irish terrorist to do the deed, but in a tense stalk-and-shoot at the presidential retreat at Nantucket, the attempt failsDprompting Rashid to go after other targets. Higgins's no-nonsense prose builds a tough tale peopled by menDand a few women, notably Rashid's beautiful, equally fierce sisterDwho thrive on danger and are smart enough to quote Plato in explaining why ("`the life which is unexamined is not worth living.' Which means to me: the life not put to the test"). Dillon's usual gang joins the diminutive, deadly Irishman as he tracks Rashid from one outrage to another, culminating in a showdown in an ancient Scot castle that leaves no doubt of a sequel. This is Higgins near the top of his game, hands a blur as, fast and hard, he deals another winner. Literary Guild main selection. (Feb. 19) Forecast: Like his talent, Higgins's welcome on bestseller lists never seems to wear out. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Library Journal Review

If one accepts the premise that the global powers must employ a few assassins to keep the world safe for democracy, then this book of revenge and nonstop violence will seem credible. After British Earl and Arab oil tycoon Paul Rashid fails in an attempt to assassinate the President of the United States, the Americans and British bring out their secret weapon, assassin Sean Dillon, to stop Rashid's next lethal move. Dillon, who is adept at killing and has a gift for survival, not surprisingly wins the day. Gerard Doyle's entertaining reading shines, especially through the Irish and cockney dialog between Dillon and his sidekick, Billy. Even though the story is formulaic and predictable, Doyle's privileged criminals and protectors possess an energy and suavity beyond the expensive liquor that the characters absorb like sponges. Recommended for popular collections. - Juleigh Muirhead Clark, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Lib., Williamsburg, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

SD_ILS:1191849

9781402529108

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